Speaker
Description
Studying exotic nuclei at the nuclear driplines presents many challenges: Firstly, production rates can fall below a particle per second. Secondly, isobaric contamination can be many orders of magnitude greater than the species of interest. Lastly, half-lives become increasingly small, often milliseconds if not shorter. Under these conditions, experiments require tools capable of fast, high-precision measurements with exceptional beam selectivity and sensitivity. In this context, the Multi-Reflection Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (MR-TOF-MS) has become an essential instrument. Its ability to provide isobaric -- and in some cases even isomeric -- beam purification, yield measurements, and precise mass determinations has made it a tool of choice for frontier studies of radioactive beams.
At the TITAN facility at TRIUMF, the MR-TOF-MS features multiple ion sources, a refined beam preparation section, and a dedicated mass separation system, together enabling exceptional operational capability. A resolving power exceeding 600,000 enabled the separation of a 200 keV isomer in $^{69}$Fe, providing access to study nuclear-structure evolution in this region. The system has also demonstrated remarkable sensitivity, performing a direct mass measurement of $^{60}$Ga at a yield of just 0.025 particles per second—permitting studies of isospin symmetry and showcasing the spectrometer’s powerful in-situ beam purification. This methodology has also been used to isolate isomers in neutron-rich Indium and is capable of suppressing contaminations up to 10$^8$ relative to the species of interest. In this contribution, we present the current status of the TITAN MR-TOF-MS, efforts to reach the driplines, and highlights from recent experimental campaigns.
| Email address | pweligampola@triumf.ca |
|---|---|
| Supervisor's Name | Ania Kwiatkowski |
| Supervisor's email | aniak@triumf.ca |
